Islam / Cult and Festivals /
Layla al-Mi'raj
Arabic: laylatu ul-mi¢rājIn Islam, mainly the Sunni branch, a lesser annual festival celebrated in remembrance of what modern theology understands as one event in the life of Muhammad: Isra' and Mi'raj, two important journeys happening during the night.This festival is by no means compulsory, and there are great geographical as well as individual differences in the adherence. It is characteristic in the sense that it is mainly children who are active. They come to the mosque in the evening together with their parents, in order to listen to the stories of Muhammad's journeys. Then the children pray alongside the grown-ups, before everything is concluded with foods and snacks being served.These celebrations function as one of several introductions to the cult of Islam, explaining to the young the background of the five-daily prayers.Although this festival is not one of the most important in the Muslim year, the stories it relates to are among the dearest to Islamic mythology.Early theology placed Isra' on the 17. Rabi' al-Awwal, and the Mi'raj on 17. Ramadan. Later, when the two journeys were defined as parts of the same night, a new date was set to 27. Rajab (see Muslim Calendar).